The legislative framework is enough for the establishment of amalgamated hromadas in Ukraine. Though to complete decentralisation, amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine are needed, said Serhiy Sharshov, Director of the Directorate for the Development of Local Self-Government, Territorial Organisation of Power and Administrative-Territorial Structure of MinRegion of Ukraine, to Ukrinform before the debates "Why should hromadas amalgamate?", held in Ivano-Frankivsk. The event was organised by the Swiss-Ukrainian project "Decentralisation Support in Ukraine" (DESPRO), with the support of the Ministry of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast State Administration and Ivano-Frankivsk Local Government Development Centre, established with the support of the U-LEAD with Europe Programme and MinRegion.

"There is a sufficient legislative basis for the establishment of amalgamated hromadas, however, in order to complete the decentralisation reform, amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine are needed, and these changes relate to four key points," said Serhiy Sharshov.

According to him, the Constitution must fix that the main powers on the ground should be exercised by local self-government bodies, and not by the state bodies appointed from Kyiv. Second point: rayon and oblast councils should form their own executive committees. The third one: the Constitution should state that the administrative territorial unit is not a settlement, a village, town, city, but the corresponding council – it fell from the Fundamental Law. And the fourth position is the reformatting of state administrations into prefect-type bodies.

As it was reported, the decentralisation reform began in Ukraine in 2014. Currently about 700 AHs have been established. MinRegion believes that 2018 should become a turning point for the majority of the administrative-territorial units to be within amalgamated hromadas.